Welcome Home
by beexfeatheryduster
Summary: At the stroke of midnight, the Labyrinth and the Underground take back what belongs to them
1. Eighteen Birthday

**Authors note: Well this came to me on the bus this morning so here you guys are, and this is for my Labyrinth Girls; Ciar, Mika and Cadence (their character names obviously) Hope you like- Bee x**_

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It was a well known fact in the Underground that the Labyrinth was sentiant and that it served the King of the Goblins. It was, however, a little known fact that the Labyrinth was actually an extension of the King. It changed depnding on his mood and it was continuously shifting in accordance with his wants and desires. It also adapted itself to the King's impression of the many mortal's who ran it's paths, attempting to try and earn back wished away children. Running of the Labyrinth was a test. It was a test to see if one was worthy of the gift they had wished away being returned to them, 'the child stolen' as written in lore. No had ever passed the test, at least till Sarah Williams. Her wish had been a mistake made in the heat of the moment when emotions were running high. Jareth had known that but the test still had to be undertaken. Wishing was absolute law and it had to be followed always. Sarah had ran the Labyrinth, which had been far easier on her than the others, and she had won. She had conquered the Labyrinth, and she had conquered Jareth's heart.

_Sarah William's had left and the Labyrinth had let her. She was too young to know what she had done. She was too young to stay where she now belonged, in the Underground. So she had left with her baby brother, blissfully ignorant of the fact that on the dawn of her eighteenth birthday she would be returning forever._

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Sarah had been eagerly awaiting her eighteen birthday. No longer would she be a child who believed in fairy stories, even though some at least were true. She would be an adult who now had her first job, as a Librarian. The letter had arrived in the post a week before, offering her a position and the whole family had celebrated. She was due to start her work on Monday which gave her an entire weekend to relish her leisure time, and explain to Ludo exactly what she was going to do. Sarah was extremely grateful that she was still able to contact Hoggle, Ludo and Sir Didymus even though she was no longer in the Underground. All she had to do was touch her mirror and speak their names and they would appear.

_Should you ever need us_ Sir Didymus had said that first time, his sentiment echoed by Hoggle. She did need them, and she couldn't think of a day when she wouldn't. They weren't the only inhabitants of the Labyrinth she thought of though. When she was feeling a bit miserable she though of the Fiery's dancing. It cheered her up and got her laughing for they were funny when they weren't trying to take off her head. The one person in the Underground who dominated her thoughts though was Him. Jareth, the Goblin King.

When she thought about it, how could her mind not dwell on him? He was the most charismatic, enchanting, handsome, intelligent and dangerous man she had ever met. She had incorrectly cast him in the role of villain for taking her little brother. After a few months had passed though, and some research on wish lore, she had found out that he wasn't actually the villain, not really. As soon as she had uttered those words, he had been bound by a magick so powerful to take Toby. He could refuse it no more than a lion could be a vegetarian.

As the years had progressed, and Sarah had become older and more woman than child, she had spent many hours thinking of Jareth's fine features and his almost ridiculously sexy appearance. She had thought back to dancing with him in the ballroom, her heart pounding in her chest as she remembered how it felt to have his body so close to her own. Even now she was still undecided as to what his intent had been. Sarah just could not believe that it had all been to stop her getting Toby back. There had been something more when he locked that mismatched gaze on her, held her close with one hand on the small of her back, and the other clutched in his own gloved hand.

Sarah sighed heavily and set down the brush she had been using to run through her thick black hair. In recent years it had started to curl naturally at the ends. It was almost time for Sarah to crawl under her warm blankets and sleep. All she could think of though was Jareth. She reached her hand out and ran her fingers along the smooth reflective surface, seeing his face clearly as though he were sitting before the mirror rather than her. She wondered how soft his skin would be, how his hair would feel like silk as she ran her hands through it. Would she get glitter on her hands? What would it feel like to have that noble mouth trail hot kisses all over her body? Her pleasure in hands that she assumed were skilled. Sarah shivered at the thought, tearing her gaze away from the mirror. The Jareth of her dreams and fantasies was very different from the real Jareth, and they could never be reconciled.

_I'll paint you Mornings of Gold, I'll spin you Valentine Evenings, Though we're strangers 'till now. We're choosing a path between the stars, I'll lay my love between the stars_. His words in the ballroom floated back to her from across the years, almost as though they could not be swallowed or lessened by time. The imagery in his words was beautiful, and he was beautiful. She and he though, they could never be, no matter how much she wished it. Wishes may be powerful, but even they would not and could not give her what she wanted.

Sarah William's was going to be eighteen in a matter of minutes, for it was near midnight now. She was going to be an adult and, she would have to let go of Jareth. She would never see him again, and if she did not let him go, she would spend the rest of her life in regret and misery, forever wondering and dreaming of what could have been, if she had accepted his offer.

"Goodbye Jareth" Sarah whispered softly, a sad smile on her lips as she heard the clock in the hallway chime the twelfth hour. One chime. Sarah felt very tired all of a sudden. Two chime. She could barely keep her eyes open. Three chime. Sarah fell forward onto her vanity, eyes shutting as she began to slip away into nothingness. Before she did though, she heard what seemed like hundred's of voices whispering all at once in her mind.

_Welcome home Sarah_


	2. Dear To Me

**Authors note: Here is the second chapter then my readership. Again, this story is dedicated to my Labyrinth girls. This chapter specifically though is for my Cadence. Enjoy all and please, don't feel shy to leave a review :) - Bee x**

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It was going to be Sarah's eighteen birthday the next day. No longer would she be a child, but Jareth hoped that she would continue to believe in the Labyrinth and in him. Not to forget and move on with her life, dismissing it as a dream or a fantasy like many others before her had done. Every day since that day in the Escher Room he had watched her, either perched as an owl on the branch outside her window or through his crystals. She had grown into a fine young woman, and she had changed from being so whiney. Her run through the Labyrinth it appeared had made her grow up and realize a few truths. One, life was not fair, but you had to deal with it. She had regularly bemoaned about how 'its not fair' At one point it had irritated him so much that he had challenged her in the tunnels. _You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is_. Yes, he remembered that well. The woman he had seen working away tirelessly on assignments for her education would never have outwardly complained that it wasn't fair. Those words had not crossed her lips since she had left the Labyrinth.

Jareth sighed and dropped the crystal he'd been twirling on his gloved fingers to the ground. There was no point in torturing himself with her beautiful face anymore. She had rejected him in the Escher Room and now, after three years, he did not see how she would ever be able to return to him. Jareth placed his head on the tree he'd been leaning against, shutting his eyes and trying desperately to tear his thoughts away from her. No good would come of it, only more heartbreak and sorrow. Jareth could barely stand it anymore, and yet still he continued to think of her, and watch her. Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth, and Champion of the King's Heart. She would never know this though. There were times when Jareth wished that he had never met her, and times when he wished that he could hurt her so badly, to see tears running down that pretty little face would bring him such savage joy. She had ruined him, and everyone knew it but her. He could never hurt Sarah though; he would never let himself hurt her.

A small noise interrupted Jareth's train of thought and he was merciful for it as he sat up straighter and opened his eyes, scanning the area in his immediate vicinity, searching for the source of the noise. He was silent and still for a few moments before the answer was revealed to him in the form of a hand on his shoulder. He twitched and reached his hand out, pulling down the person who had touched him. It did not surprise him in the least when he seen who it was.

"Lanie, why am I not surprised" Jareth remarked, pleased that the young woman was here. She had always had this tremendous habit of showing up whenever he needed some distraction. She grinned up at him from her position on the ground, not all that bothered it appeared that she had just been flipped onto her back. There were worse things that could have happened from sneaking up on the Goblin King. An Oubliette was one possibly avenue.

"I tried to find you in the castle and I ended up in the dungeons. You really need to give your goblins a map" Lanie said impishly, her eyes mismatched like his own and sparkling brightly. She was defiantly trying to push his buttons. It was as it always had been between them and it brought Jareth a large sense of comfort to know this.

"My goblins know exactly where everything is. It is not my fault they presumed I was down there" Jareth replied, squeezing Lanie's hand which he was still holding onto, He lifted her up into a proper sitting position and immediately found himself pulled into her embrace. Ever the affectionate one was his dear Lanie.

"I've missed you brother. We all have" Lanie said quietly, her voice no longer filled with that bright cheeriness. Jareth pulled back and looked her over quickly. The sparkle was gone and she looked a mixture between worried and sad. Jareth sighed and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I know why you are so sad, but you cannot stop living your life because of this one incident" Lanie said. Jareth was silent for a few moments, unsure if he wanted to yell at her in anger or if he wanted to agree with her. She had been telling him this for so many months now, and Jareth had to admit that she was right. He did love Sarah so much, but he was a King. He had a Kingdom to rule and maintains, people who he was charged to care of and a family who he could not reject. It could not all stop whilst he mourned the loss of a woman who was never really his. He had made his offer too soon, whilst she was too young and all the misery that had come from it had slowly been killing him. It could not be allowed to continue.

"Your right. Just give me some time sister" Jareth replied quietly. He needed time. He needed to bring himself out of this depression he had been in for those three long years. He needed time to become the Goblin King once again, a sovereign for all to love or envy. Lanie nodded her head and reached her slender pale hand out to touch her brother's fine golden hair. She smiled at him and then started to ruffle it up, much to Jareth's displeasure. In return he pushed her to the ground and started messing up her own fiery red locks. She started laughing and, very shortly afterwards so did he. It felt good to laugh again, and smile again. It felt good to be himself again. Eventually they both stopped and Jareth helped his sister to her feet as he stood up.

"Care for a walk sister dear?" Jareth asked as he straightened his dark purple jacket before he brushed some of the glitter from the ground off Lanie's blue shirt and black leggings. It was an outfit she was nearly always wearing, much to the distress of their mother and the amusement of their father. Trying to get Lanie in a dress was like trying to convince the Fiery's that not everyone's head came off, or trying to teach the Goblin's maths. It would not happen. Lanie smiled at him and nodded her head, brushing some stray red lock out of her face. Jareth held his arm out for her and she took hold of it.

"Can we go to the Hedge Maze?" She asked, sounding excited at the prospect. Jareth chuckled lightly as he turned them so they were headed in that direction.

"I dread to think of what purpose you have there" He said, earning a stinging slap on the arm from Lanie in return for his remark. Lanie was about to speak when she stopped dead in her tracks, eyes wide. Jareth's face creased slightly in worry and he followed her gaze to see exactly what had incited such a reaction from her. What he saw caused his mouth to fall open in surprise. There, lying on the dry dirt only a few feet away from them was none other than Sarah Williams.

"Jareth, that's her. Your mortal girl, she has returned" Lanie said in amazement. Jareth didn't even feel like telling her that she had just stated the obvious. He let go of her and ran to Sarah, dropping to his knees in the ground beside her.

"Sarah" Jareth whispered in incredulity. He could hardly believe that she was here, and yet she was. He held a trembling hand out and ran his fingers across her cheek. He could touch her. She had substance, which could only mean that she really was here. As though in response to his touch Sarah moaned and stretched her arms out before opening her eyes


	3. Yoghurt

**Authors note: I'd just like to say thank you for everyone whose been reviewing and reading. I really appreciate it. I'm sorry that my chapters are always so short, I really don't know why I do that, cause they are very long in my original stories so apologies. I hope you like this chapter :)- Bee x**

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Sarah remembered the voices; they had been rather disturbing actually, and then there was nothing till that feather light touch on her skin. She was surprised that it had been able to get through and register in her mind, through all the fog and haze. She stretched her arms out and opened her eyes as though she were waking from slumber. She was shocked to say the least by what she saw. There was someone looming over her, someone she had never thought she would ever see again. Jareth, the Goblin King! He couldn't be here, in her room nonetheless!

"What the hell!" She exclaimed, scooting along the ground away from him. Ground, yes. She was on the ground. Not in her bed, or even on her bedroom floor. Sarah was lying on ground. Jareth made a move to get closer to her and Sarah backed away even further. He was evil, cruel. A baby-snatching pervert! Yes! Except, he didn't look like that. The expression on his face, it was a mixture of sorrow and, dare she say it, joy. It was at that point that Sarah realized there was someone else. Her and Jareth were not alone. She transferred her gaze to the woman, staring at her as though she had a second head. Sarah gasped and looked between Jareth and this woman. She looked just like him! Except for her hair. The eyes were the same; the face was also the same. Sarah reckoned that she was also Fae then, and that she hadn't somehow just happened upon Jareth tormenting another Runner.

"Sarah. Your back" Jareth said, his voice filled with disbelief and something Sarah hadn't heard from him before, hope. She placed her palms down on the ground and lifted herself up onto her feet. She brushed her hands down her clothes to clear away whatever dust or dirt might have been there. She squealed when she found that her clothes, were actually her pajama's. She was standing in the Labyrinth she assumed, with Jareth and another Fae, in her pajama's!

"Alright Glitter Boy! You've got some explaining to do! How the hell am I here!" She yelled, furious that she was actually here. A small part of her was so happy that she was back, and that she was seeing Jareth again. The rest of her though, was angry that he had dared to take her from the Aboveground. He had no reason to do so. She hadn't wished her brother away, or anyone else for that matter, herself included!

Jareth opened his mouth and made to speak but went silent when the Fae woman beside him put her hand on his shoulder. She took a step towards Sarah, who didn't move. This woman hadn't proven herself to be a threat yet. She smiled slightly at Sarah and took a few steps closer.

"Sarah Williams, Champion of the Labyrinth. Jareth did not bring you here, he could not have" The woman said sincerely. Sarah found herself agreeing with the woman to a certain extent, he could not have taken her without a wish being made. Still, it was the only explanation she had for why she was in the Underground again.

"Who are you?" Sarah questioned. Her mind was full of questions and rather than asking 'why am I here then?' she had asked that instead. Of all of the important questions to ask, she had chosen that one. Why she was there was a much more important question. She was taken aback when the woman stuck her hand out and gave her a broad grin.

"Lanie!" She said cheerfully. Sarah hesitantly took the woman's hand and shook it. Lanie let go of Sarah's hand and moved back to stand beside Jareth.

"I hope you stay for a while Sarah. I'd like to get to know you" She said, offering Sarah a small wave. She reached her hands and ruffled up Jareth's hair.

"Lanie!" Jareth barked, glaring as the Fae woman disappeared in a cloud of glitter. Sarah tried so very hard not to laugh as Jareth started to try and straighten his hair back out a bit better. When he was done he shot a glance over to Sarah who immediately schooled her expression into a serious one.

"Who is she?" Sarah asked. She knew the woman's name, but she didn't know anything else about her, and now that she had left Jareth was the only source of information available.

"That, dear Sarah, was my sister" Jareth replied. For the third time in as many minutes Sarah was, once again, surprised. Sister. Jareth had a sister! Sarah had a feeling that this day was going to be filled with surprises.

"She seems very uh, cheerful" Sarah said, very hesitant about passing comment on Jareth's sister. She didn't want to cause any offence and end up headfirst in the bog of eternal stench, or end up spending the rest of her days in an oubliette. Jareth's lips twitched into a smile and he nodded, appearing to agree with Sarah.

"That's one word to describe her. Another would be annoying" Jareth commented. He hadn't made a move towards Sarah yet, which also surprised her. _Maybe I should just stop expecting things cause nothing is turning out as I'm thinking it will _she thought to herself.

"Did you bring me here Jareth? I want the truth" Sarah said seriously. If he said he hadn't then she would have to believe him wouldn't she? After all, the last thing she had known before waking up was voices, not Jareth. Voices. There were so many voices, in her mind.

"No, Sarah. No matter how much I wanted to, I did not bring you here" He said soberly, his eyes locking with hers. He had such wonderful eyes. It was almost as though he could see into her soul whenever he looked her in the eyes.

"Well, can you take me back?" She asked, all the while in conflict. An ever-growing part of her wanted him to say that it was impossible, and that she would have to stay in the Underground with him forever. Still another part of her was hoping that he would be able to take her home.

"I don't know Sarah. It all depends on how you got here" Jareth said, everything about him attesting to his honesty. _Wow, your really useful aren't you FAIRY! _Sarah grumbled silently to herself.

"I don't know how I got here. I was sitting at my mirror thinking of yoooooghurt. Yoghurt. I was thinking of what yoghurt I was going to get for a midnight snack when I got really tired all of a sudden. The last thing I remember was voices" Sarah said, mentally cursing herself for nearly saying 'you' and yet congratulating herself on a pretty fantastic save if she did say so herself. Jareth didn't seem all that interested in what she was saying, at least until she mentioned voices. He straightened up and took a few steps towards her at hearing that.

"Voices Sarah? What did they say?" He questioned, his tone betraying urgency. The voices were obviously rather important to him. If she said then he might know how to get her back Aboveground.

"Welcome home Sarah"


	4. The King

**Authors note: Sorry I took a while to update, I wasn't really sure what to write next you see. Finally I managed to decide on something and here it is. There is a quote from one of the Labyrinth songs slipped in here, first person to find it gets a review on one of their fics :) (I'd say internet cookie but that's not an incentive is it, we all crave reviews though so that really is) I hope you all like this chapter. The Debut appearance of Ciar, so this chapter is for you dear- Bee x**

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Jareth had escorted Sarah back to the castle with him, glad that she had decided to co-operate, and that she no longer thought that he had went to the Aboveground and whisked her back down to his Kingdom. That she had originally believed that showed two things. One she still thought of him as a villain and two she still read fairy tales or at least had them close to her heart. It was such a fairy tale beginning, the fair maiden being swept down into the depths by the villainous Goblin King. The mere thought of it made Jareth snort. It was so ridiculous, like he could take anyone without a wish being made. His life would be so much easier if it were that way, and the past few years would not have been spent mourning the loss of beloved Sarah. He had watched her from time to time in his crystals, her hopes and aspirations playing out in front of him. No longer did she desire to be an actress, instead she had grown up and had a more fixed and attainable desire for her future.

Jareth sighed and leant back in the chair in his study. There were voluminous amounts of papers requesting his approval for various different activities and stacked atop of those were several books and scrolls that Jareth had been leafing through. No matter how great his feelings and desire for Sarah was, she wanted to go back to the Aboveground. That much was clear to him, and he cared enough for her that he wanted her wishes and desires to be fulfilled over his own. If she wanted to go back to the Aboveground, he would do all within his power to make it happen. Which is how he had found himself spending the past few hours perusing various documentations, trying to discover the cause of Sarah's appearance in the Underground. At first Jareth had thought it was a stroke of luck that Sarah had appeared before him rather than somewhere else in the Labyrinth. Now though, he was not so sure it was luck and more that it had been engineered that way. Whoever or whatever had taken Sarah from the Aboveground had deliberately placed her within Jareth's reach. Now all he had to do was figure out whom or what had done it, why they had done it and how he could get Sarah back.

She belonged here in the Underground. Jareth knew it, all the residents of the Labyrinth knew it so it wasn't too far fetched to think that other's knew in the Fae Kingdom knew it. Lanie couldn't have brought Sarah back to him and the Underground. She was a terrible actress when she was fired up with a particular emotion. If she had brought Sarah back, she would have given herself away with excitement. So, it wasn't Lanie, meaning that Jareth would have to search the Labyrinth for clues, ask Sarah more questions and then leave the kingdom for a few days to try and find any leads. There was a problem with leaving the Kingdom though; when he was not there his lands were vulnerable. This left him with two options, stay and send Lanie to track down information or leave and tell Lanie to safeguard the Kingdom whilst he was gone. This wouldn't be necessary if, as he was being constantly reminded of, he had married.

As a King he was expected to rule justly, to have a Queen by his side, and to create the next generation with her. So far, Jareth had done none of these other than rule justly. During her visit to the Labyrinth, Sarah had been unable to see this. He had been cast in the role of villain and so had been forced to play the part. For those few hours she had ran the Labyrinth, he had been a despot and he had been glad when it was all over. Yes, he ruled a little harshly sometimes but he was no maniacal tyrant. He wasn't any kind of tyrant. Jareth resolved that before Sarah left for the Aboveground he was going to have to show her what kind of a ruler, what kind of a man, he was.

First though, he had to find out why she was here and then work out how to send her back. Sarah wanted to go back, even though she belonged here in the Underground. She belonged in the Labyrinth.

Jareth stopped reading and placed the scroll he had been scrutinising down on the desk. He had just been hit by a thought, and it was one he was most certainly going to follow up on. Sarah's mind wanted to leave and head back Aboveground. Her heart though did not and therein lay his chance. If Jareth worked hard enough, he could convince Sarah's mind that her heart spoke naught but truth. In this instance, it would be true for Sarah's heart was telling her what she should already know. The world she had been born in and grew up in, no longer was it the world she belonged in. The Labyrinth changed a person, and it had changed Sarah. It had changed her, perhaps, more than even she realised.

The Goblin King rose to his feet, the chair he had been sitting on scraping backwards along the floor. He didn't bother tucking it in, instead striding out of the room, heading in the direction of his throne room. The study and the throne room weren't all that far away from one and other so Jareth's walk through the corridors of his castle was not long at all. For the lost and the lonely however, it might very well feel like thirteen hours.

Soon enough Jareth reached the throne room and he threw open the doors with a satisfying bang as they hit the stone walls. The Goblins all stopped and looked over to their King, all of them bowing. Except for one. There was one Goblin who was standing beside the pit in the floor, placing a pillow on top of several others. Jareth slowly approached, the slight heel on his boots making a small clicking sound as he approached. Still the Goblin did not turn away. Rather, it scuttled away to the far corner of the throne room. Jareth watched the Goblin then turned and looked back to the pit, eyeing the pillow construction with barely concealed curiosity. This Goblin had made a pillow fort. For what purpose, Jareth didn't even want to know or care all that much for that matter. He turned and watched as the Goblin hobbled back over, a bottle of what looked to be Rum in their hand.

Jareth recognised the Goblin by it's gait immediately, that and the bottle of Rum in it's hand. Viper was the Goblin's name and she was one of the few female Goblin's who had chosen to become a warrior. Most female Goblin's married and settled down to have children and serve the King by way of servant work. A select few though, such as Viper, did not see that as their future. They served their King by fighting. Viper had always been the best, and Jareth had a small soft spot for the crippled, war veteran Viper. She had been the best of the Goblin Army during her service but now spent her days drinking in misery at the realisation that her career was over, and training in the hopes that one day she would be able to fight again. Viper was just the Goblin Jareth was looking for.

"Viper!" Jareth said sharply, drawing the attention of the Goblin immediately. Viper bowed and hurried over to sit on Jareth's boots, clinging to them tightly, the bottle of Rum temporarily forgotten. The other Goblins went about their business, deliberately leaving the abandoned Rum bottle. They all knew better than to incite the wrath of Viper.

"What can Viper do for King hmm? Can Viper fight for King?" Viper asked, her voice deep and scratchy. Jareth resisted the urge to sigh. Always the same question, and Jareth wished that he could give his most loyal and courageous Goblin the answer she wished for. He never could though.

"No Viper, you cannot fight today. However, the Lady Sarah has returned. Whilst she is here, she needs protection. I cannot always provide it. You are the best I have Viper, and you always have been" Jareth said, watching as Viper smiled, revealing a row of sharp pointed teeth. The long scar across Viper's face from left eye to the right side of her jaw seemed to stretch slightly with the action of smiling. It was a sad sight for Jareth and he had to wonder how Sarah would react when she saw Viper.

"Viper will protect Lady Sarah!" Viper said eagerly, hugging Jareth's leg's before scampering off as best she could with her bad leg dragging behind her slightly. Jareth watched with a small smile as Viper disappeared. He needed to go speak to Lanie about something. He disappeared, leaving only a small amount of glitter in the air and on the ground to indicate that he had ever been there. One Goblin crept over to the glitter and dipped their hand into it before smearing it all over their face. The Goblins' loved their King, no matter what station they were, and they always would do. Now though, they also cared for the Lady Sarah for it was noted by all of the Goblins that when the King had mentioned her name, his eyes had danced with happiness. The King was happy, and the Lady Sarah had made him happy.


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